Sahara Desert

The Sahara Desert is located in the northern portion of Africa and covers over 3,500,000 square miles (9,000,000 sq km) or roughly 10% of the continent (image). It is bounded in the east by the Red Sea and it stretches west to the Atlantic Ocean. To the north, the Sahara Desert's northern boundary is the Mediterranean Sea, while in the south it ends at the Sahel, an area where the desert landscape transforms into a semi-arid tropical savanna. Since the Sahara Desert makes up nearly 10% of the African continent, the Sahara is often cited as the world's largest desert. This is not entirely true, however, as it is only the world's largest hot desert. Based on the definition of a desert as an area receiving less than 10 inches (250 mm) of precipitation per year, the world's largest desert is actually the continent of Antarctica at 5,339,573 sq mi (13,829,430 sq km).

Geography of the Sahara Desert

The Sahara covers parts of several African nations including Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan and Tunisia. Most of the Sahara Desert is undeveloped and features a varied topography. Most of its landscape has been shaped over time by wind and includes sand dunes, sand seas called ergs, barren stone plateaus, gravel plains, dry valleys and salt flats. Around 25% of the desert is sand dunes, some of which reach over 500 ft (152 m) in height. There are also several mountain ranges within the Sahara and many are volcanic. The highest peak found in these mountains is Emi Koussi, a shield volcano that rises to 11,204 ft (3,415 m). It is a part of the Tibesti Range in northern Chad. The lowest point in the Sahara Desert is in Egypt's Qattera Depression at -436 ft (-133 m) below sea level.

Most of the water found in the Sahara today is in the form of seasonal or intermittent streams. The only permanent river in the desert is the Nile River that flows from Central Africa to the Mediterranean Sea. Other water in the Sahara is found in...

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...T h e S a h a r a D e s e r t A f r i c a
I n t r o d u c t I o n a b o u t t h e S a h a r a D e s e r t
The SaharaDesert is the largest hot and dry desert in the world. It is located in North Africa; it covers 9 million square kilometres and covers over twelve countries, some of the countries include; Morocco, Algeria Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, and Sudan. Most of the SaharaDesert is located at Algeria. The SaharaDesert receives less than 40cm of rain per year, the sand dunes in the SaharaDesert reach up to about 180 metres. It is Atlantic Ocean side to the Red Sea. It is just north of Nigeria and its co-ordinates are 20.6328° N, 11.2061° E. There are also several mountain ranges within the Sahara and many are volcanic. The highest peak found in these mountains is Emi Koussi. It is believed that people have inhabited the SaharaDesert since 6000 BCE and earlier. Since then, Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Europeans have been among the peoples in the area. The SaharaDesert is almost as large as China or the United States. The SaharaDesert is home to more than 2.5 million people.
F o r m a t I o n o f t h e S a h a r a D e s e r t
During the Mesozoic era (200 to 70 million years ago), the...

...SaharaDesert
The SaharaDesert is the world's largest desert area. The word Sahara comes from the Arabic word sahra', meaning desert. It extends from the Africa's Atlantic Ocean side to the Red Sea and consists of the countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, and Sudan. It is about 5,200 miles long. Overall, the SaharaDesert covers 3,500,000 square miles. The geography of the desert is varied. In the west, the Sahara is rocky with varied elevation. It does contain underground rivers, which sometime penetrate the surface, resulting in oases. The central region of the Sahara has more elevation than the other areas, with peaks such as Emi Koussi and Tahat. Even though the area lacks rainfall, these peaks are snowcapped during the winter. The Eastern part of the Sahara, the Libyan Desert, is dry with very few oases.
The Sahara's landscape features include shallow basins, large oasis depressions, gravel-covered plains, plateaus, and mountains, sand sheets, dunes and sand seas. Sand sheets and dunes cover over 25 percent of the Sahara's surface. The most common types of dunes include tied dunes, blowout dunes, and transverse dunes. Within the Sahara are several pyramidal dunes that reach over 500 feet in height while...

...
The Saharadesert covers around 9,000,000 square kilometers and the overall area is as large as the continental United States. The Saharadesert also has the reputation of being the world’s largest hot desert. The landforms in this desert often undergo constant change. These landforms are shaped as per the direction of the wind and the occasional rainfalls. Although being a desert area, one can notice annual rainfall in many regions of this vast land area. There are different climates witnessed in different regions such as the subtropical climate in the northern land where as a tropical climate in the southern area. Over the years, the climate of the Saharadesert has undergone humungous changes. This desert therefore, is known for its harsh climates so typical of all deserts. This hot desert has annual temperatures that can exceed 30 degrees C. Some of the hottest months have temperatures exceeding 50 degrees C. In the winters, the temperatures drop below freezing points. This it explains the diverse climates of this hot desert. Studies have revealed the changing size of the Saharadesert! Observations made with the help of satellite photographs have proven this desert can shrink or even grow in size. The Saharadesert is...

...James Davis
Professor Pope/GLY 101
March 26, 2014
Research Paper
SaharaDesertSaharaDesert is the world’s largest desert.
fahsdf asdfjk asdfjas dfasdkfj afoiwehfa djfaiweofj asdkfThe eastern Sahara is the driest region on Earth, where the received solar radiation is capable of evaporating over 200-times the amount of rainfall. It is characterized by a vegetation-free expanse of sandstone in the south and a limestone plateau in the north, with numerous sand sheets and sand dunes in numerous patterns. All of the dune fields occur within or near topographic depressions. This fact must be explained in any theory regarding the origin of the sand and the evolution of dune forms in space and time.
Two other important observations must also be taken into account. The first is that wind in this desert moves towards the south during most of the year, except where it is locally affected by topographic prominences. The second is that sands in these dune fields are composed mostly of well rounded quartz grains. The exposed rocks to the north of the sand seas are mostly limestones, which could not have been the source of the vast amounts of quartz sand. The two observations discount the possibility of the origin of the majority of the sand by wind erosion and transportation from the north. Therefore, it is more likely that the areas covered by dune sand were topographically...

...The Desert?
Submitted by: Justyne Gibson
Social Studies Fair Project
Mrs. Horne – 6th Grade
November 9, 2011
Verification Page
Written By: Justyne Gibson
Typed By: Shea Gibson
Social Studies Fair Project
Mrs. Horne – 6th Grade
November 9, 2011
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to prove that people can live in the desert. I chose this topic because it was interesting.
Methodology
Step 1: I chose a topic
Step 2: I did lots &amp; lots of research
Step 3: I wrote my question
Step 4: I wrote my title page
Step 5: I wrote my purpose
Step 6: I wrote my hypothesis
Step 7: I wrote my methodology
Step 8: I wrote my research paper
Step 9: I finished the paper
Step 10: My mom typed it for me
Thesis Statement: People can survive and live in the desert.
Most people believe that people cannot live in the desert. Let’s see what a desert is to see why many people feel this way. The definition of a desert is “a dry, barren area of land, especially one covered with sand” (American Heritage Dictionary). It is usually a place that gets a very low amount of rain. This report will discuss what kind of people live in the desert and how they can live there.
Did you know that deserts cover about one fifth of the Earth’s surface? Did you also know that there are four major types of deserts? You have hot and dry...

...regions in which climate, soils, natural vegetation and animal life are all interrelated. The biome that i have studied is the desert biome.
Dry Climate
Desert climate is very dry, with a yearly rainfall of between 0 and 250mm. Although deserts are very dry regions, very few deserts are completely dry. Parts of the Atacama Desert in Chile are said to be the driest places on earth. They receive an average of less than 15mm of rain per annum and sometimes receive no rain. Rainfall is as unpredictable as it is rare. When rain does occur it usually comes in the form of short, heavy downpours , which may affect small areas.
Very limited precipitation can also occur in the forms of dew or fog. Sudden drops in temperature can cause night dews in parts of the Sahara. Fog sometimes brings limited moisture to narrow coastal areas were cold ocean currents flow offshore. Such fogs occur regularly on the coastal sand dunes of the Namib Desert in Africa.
Some hot desert areas lie on the ‘horse latitudes’, high pressure belts that runs across much of the earth about 30° north and south of the equator. Air descends towards the earth along these high pressure belts. As it does so, the air becomes warmer. Warm air holds more water vapour than cooler air, so the descending air absorbs moisture. That is why high pressure brings prolonged dry conditions.
Most hot...

...The Ecosystem - Deserts
An Ecosystem is a biodiversity community where biotic and abiotic elements inhabit the same environment. There are many types of ecosystems located throughout the world and one of which is known as the Gobi desert. The Gobi is a large desert region that scales from 500,000 square miles and spans across two countries (China and southern Mongolia) covering parts of northern and northwestern China. Like alldeserts, the Gobi desert is a cold biome desert that consists of a vast array of animals and plants that have adapted to the harsh conditions.
Abiotic factors of an organism are parts of the ecosystem that are not alive. These can be core elements, which the entire structure of the ecosystem depends on.Whatever life exists in an ecosystem must learn to adapt and survive the abiotic factors of the certain ecosystem. Abiotic factors within the desert environment include temperature, climate, soil, and rainfall. The abiotic features all help towards making up the desert.
The temperature in the Gobi desert has been known to shift 60 degrees in a matter of hours. The weather can go down to minus -40 degrees during in the winter and as hot as 122 degrees during the summer. Although the desert only receives an average of 7.6 inches of rainfall per year, and northerly position on the globe, it's...

...Deserts, Glaciers, and Climate
September 19, 2010
SCI/245
Deserts and Glaciers
Deserts cover about one-third of the earth’s surface and have unique geologic features that cannot be found in more humid environments. The features found in deserts are mostly formed by wind and water erosion. Desserts are usually created because they are located in a dry region downwind of a mountain range caused by air losing its moisture as it passes over mountains, also known as a rain shadow.
Rocks of different hardness and strength weather at different rates producing many of the unique shaped structures in found in the desert. There are many geological forms found in the desert, but here are a few of the unique ones. Arroyo is a dry gully, usually a small, narrow canyon with steep walls and flat, gravel floor. A butte is a narrow flat topped hill of resistant rock with very steep sides, which may have previously been a mesa. A mesa is a large, flat topped hill with cliffs with a resistant rock layer. A hoodoo has a column or pillar shape and this is caused by differential erosion on rocks of different hardness.
Glaciers create landforms by erosion as well. A glacier is a large body of ice that is formed on land from the compaction and recrystallization of snow. Glaciers move slowly downhill due to gravity. The erosion features of a glacier can be extremely large or extremely small....